William finnegans book is interesting and thought provoking and is about a young man who is obviously possessed of talent, insight and intelligence and whose life was majorly affected by his love for the ocean and surfing and who, at least in his earlier years, wandered the earth looking for the perfect wave. Youll find links to all the interviews at the end of this one. Like that powerful, glassy wave, great books on surfing come few and far between. Its a theme that causes one to wonder if barbarian days is the apt title.
Whether speaking about his experiences as a political journalist or his bestselling memoir, finnegan. Barbarian days is william finnegan s memoir of an obsession, a complex enchantment. Barbarian days is william finnegans memoir of an obsession. What emerges from these beautifully rendered portraits is a prescient and compassionate book that never loses sight of its subjects humanity. A surfing life, by william finnegan finnegans 2015 memoir, barbarian days, won the pulitzer prize for biography. William finnegan revisits his golden age of surfing and the classic. William finnegan on the sounds of surfing pitchfork. Longtime journalist and staff writer for the new yorker, where hes covered wars in somalia and sudan. Panoramic and fascinating the core of the book is a surfing chronicle, and finnegan possesses impeccable shortboard bona fides a revealing and magisterial account of a beautiful addiction. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. Raised in california and hawaii, finnegan started surfing as a child. Along for the ride with william finnegan surfer magazine.
Mark rotella, publishers weekly s best summer books of the summer. A surfing life is more the subtitle than the title that is, a surfing life. William finnegans phone number, email, address spokeo. A surfing life, is a beautiful book that offers priceless insight that may have eluded any other author lacking bills knowledge of surfing. The postgidget boom of which he was a part made the sport an iconic, global phenomenon, but it. William finnegan is an awardwinning reporter, a staff writer at the new yorker, and the author of the pulitzer prizewinning book barbarian days, a memoir about his lifelong passion for surfing. Like jon krakauers into the wild, it is a sympathetic examination of what happens when literary ideas of freedom and purity take hold of a young mind and fling his body out into the far. His descriptions of surfing have been compared to ernest. Reporting from africa, central america, south america. Finnegan and his fellowsurfing and fellowwriting friend, bryan di salvatore, fall off the map for months at a time, occasionally receiving mail post.
Find william finnegans phone number, address, and email on spokeo, the leading online directory for contact information. William finnegan rides the big waves in barbarian days. Barbarian days book by william finnegan thriftbooks. A lifelong surfer explains why theres no such thing as a. A deeply rendered selfportrait of a lifelong surfer by the acclaimed new yorker writer barbarian days is william finnegan s memoir of an obsession, a complex enchantment. These days, when hes not reporting overseas or surfing the jersey shore, finnegan spends his. William finnegan is a staff writer at the new yorker and author of works of international journalism. William finnegan on surf writing and winning a pulitzer a conversation with the journalist whose 2015 surfing memoir, barbarian days, just won the pulitzer prize, about tapping his passion for a. Mark cordesius the beach boys still provide summers soundtrack but headlines suggest its not a great time to be surfing. He spent most his childhood and teenage years in southern california but enjoyed occasional spells living with his family in honolulu, hawaii, where his father worked as a film producer. Finnegan, then in his 20s, was in the middle of the openended surfing odyssey that forms the heart of this book. He has specially addressed issues of racism and conflict in southern africa and politics in mexico and south america, as well as poverty among youth in the united states, and is well known for his writing on surfing. Interview with william finnegan, author of barbarian days.
A deeply rendered selfportrait of a lifelong surfer by the accla. William finnegan s barbarian days from hawaii to fiji barbarian days author william finnegan, right, at kirra in 1979 with bryan di salvatore. William finnegan has been a contributor to the new yorker since 1984 and a staff writer since 1987. Early in the book, finnegan examines how the pull of waves is intimately connected to their lethal nature. As mentioned above, william finnegan truly inspired me with this story of his lifelong obsession with surfing, after a long career as a staff writer at the new yorker and wellknown author. Dreams of laura ingalls wilder, by caroline fraser metropolitan books. William finnegan is a veteran staff writer for the new yorker and author of four books.
View the profiles of people named william finnegan. William finnegan is a staff writer at the new yorker. To break it down further, it is more life than surfing, as it follows william finnegan from youngest years to the present day, from continent to continent, from schools to jobs, from here to eternity. This is the final entry in a fourpart interview with barbarian days author william finnegan. Finnegan talks with nprs renee montagne about different surfing styles, his quest to find the perfect wave and what its like to keep surfing as you get older.
Join facebook to connect with william finnegan and others you may know. Finnegan has certainly written a surfing book for surfers, but on a more fundamental level, barbarian days offers a cleareyed vision of american boyhood. Surfing is topic a here, but it inevitably connects with politics when mr. The 2016 pulitzer prize winners were announced yesterday, and among the winners is surfer senior writer, and longtime new yorker staffer, william finnegan, whose memoir barbarian days. Barbarian days is william finnegans memoir of an obsession, a complex enchantment. He has been surfing for half a century, chasing waves all over the world, and has returned with a tale of enchantment. Barbarian days is a deeply rendered selfportrait of a lifelong surfer looking for. A book beloved by surfers and nonsurfers alike, barbarian days is an oldschool adventure story.
Select the best result to find their address, phone number, relatives, and public records. Like jon krakauers into the wild, it is a sympathetic examination of what happens when literary ideas of freedom and purity take hold of a young mind and fling his body out into. Not about surfing william finnegan a word on words. Finnegan has certainly written a surfing book for surfers, but on a more fundamental level, barbarian days offers a clear eyed vision of american boyhood. William finnegan surfing for balance in silicon valley. He also traveled through asia and africa and the south pacific. The book s main tension runs between finnegans passion for surfing and his desire to do work that is useful and worthwhile. The reason i like this book is because its relatable and since its a memoir the book has true events that happened to william and some things he does and talks about can make you feel like your reading about your own life which would make you want to read more. Near the end of barbarian days, william finnegan s luscious memoir about his lifelong infatuation with surfing, the author describes a wave of huge power in which this tension becomes manifest. Winner of the pulitzer price and william hill sports book of the year. I was reluctant to come out of the closet as a surfer. The book documents his obsession with surfing, and how it has shaped and informed his life. William finnegan spent years embedded with families in four communities across the country to become an intimate observer of the lives he reveals in cold new world.
William finnegan new yorker jun 2012 40 min permalink the last tour a decorated iraq war veteran with ptsd kills his brother and himself after a highspeed chase near the grand canyon. A surfing life took home top honors for biography finnegans memoir has drawn high praise from all. He has won several awards for his journalism and the 2016 pulitzer prize for biography or autobiography for his work barbarian days. Surf champ kelly slater invents a machine to create the perfect wave. He reports on some very heavy subjects like human trafficking and organized crime. Barbarian days by william finnegan overdrive rakuten. William finnegan, author of barbarian days, talks about his memoir as a surfer. On staff at the new yorker since 1987, finnegan has reported on a wide range of international conflicts, including the aftermath of the sandinista revolt in nicaragua, the civil wars in mozambique, sudan, and the balkans, and the drug wars in mexico. Finnegan taught in cape town, south africa, in 1981, students boycotted his classes to protest apartheid, environmental issues he sees great surf spots both created and destroyed by human enterprise and much more.
Raised in california and hawaii, finnegan started surfing as. Surfing has provided finnegan with transcendent experiences and formidable challenges and lifelong friendships, but its also, he knows, a dangerous, lifeconsuming addiction. The writer william finnegans output is remarkable not only for its volume, but for its scope. Pulitzer prize winner william finnegan on his balinese book tour last november.
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